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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wake — a trail
  10. degree — an amount
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. saw — the tool
  13. game — a match
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. ground — the earth
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. rest — what's left
  23. ground — a position
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com